Stranger Things
by Yorugami Ahou
Summary: Zell's become an instructor at the Garden but two new students have arrived and they seem to have supernatural abilities. What's worse, Zell has become embroiled in an adventure that could save or destroy the world; what will he do?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Stranger Things…  
  
Author: Collaboration fic between Kasa no Miko and FalconIce  
  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 is not ours and will never be and if you sue us, you won't get anything but cute and cuddly dust bunnies…^.^v  
  
Warnings: An oddball sense of humor and plot holes! Spot them and win a prize!!! * sweatdrop*  
  
Pairings: OCxOC and OCxOC  
  
Rating: PG-13 For the violence and the implications, I guess?  
  
Note: It's our first collaboration so it's a bit weord and we had fun with self inserts no da!  
  
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/twilight_wings and http://www.geocities.com/shards_of_dewprism  
  
Feedback: Is our livelihood, our food and our God! REVIEWS!!!!  
  
  
  
CHAPTER I- Enter...Instructor D, by Kasa no Miko  
  
  
  
"Instructor D! Instructor D!"  
  
  
  
Zell Dincht jumped up from his seat on the bench. "What? What?" he demanded, expecting to hear that Balamb Garden was in another crisis situation. Six months of peace and quiet after Ultimecia's death, and Zell was already wishing she would come back from the dead, just to see some action again.  
  
  
  
One of his three junior students, Ethan, said confidentially, "Sir Squall's coming this way. Wouldn't want him to catch you sleeping on the job."  
  
  
  
Zell looked up and indeed saw Squall heading in their direction. "Hey Squall," he greeted as Squall came within hearing range.  
  
  
  
Squall looked at the junior students first, then gave Zell a languid glance. Emotionlessly, he muttered something that passed for a "hi", then strode towards the library.  
  
  
  
"What a stiff," Jared, another of Zell's students, smirked.  
  
  
  
"Hey," Zell said, plopping back onto the bench. "Much as I want to admit that he's a stiff sometimes, he's still my friend, and I'm not gonna let you get away with calling him that."  
  
  
  
"But if he's your friend, why doesn't he treat you like one?" Keisha, Zell's usually quiet student, pointed out innocently.  
  
  
  
Zell looked at her, his blond eyebrows furrowing in contemplation. Finally he said, "Let's go get some hotdogs, okay?"  
  
  
  
All three eleven-year-olds nodded in agreement.  
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
"We're lucky we managed to snag some hotdogs," Keisha commented as the four of them sat down on an unoccupied table.  
  
  
  
"Yeah," Ethan agreed. "If Zell didn't threaten to booya the cafeteria lady, she wouldn't be making some hotdogs exclusively for us." He cast an admiring glance at his lively instructor.  
  
  
  
Zell shrugged his shoulders modestly and glanced around the cafeteria for any of his friends.  
  
  
  
Sure enough, Irvine and Selphie were on a table near them, deep in conservation.  
  
  
  
"Hey Irvine, Selphie!" he called. The duo glanced up. "Over here."  
  
  
  
They somewhat hesitantly stood up and walked towards Zell's table.  
  
  
  
"Hi, Zell," Selphie chirped in her usual cheery voice. "Awww...you're with the kids today. How sweet."  
  
  
  
"Yeah, Zell," Irvine put in, tipping his hat stylishly. "Always knew you were great with 'em."  
  
  
  
"Hey, you wanna come with me to Balamb City tonight," Zell asked. "We could catch a movie, and maybe afterwards, we could hang out at my place and play video games or something. What do you say?"  
  
  
  
Selphie slowly shook her head. "Nah," she replied. "Irvine and I are really busy tonight. Right, Irvine?" She surreptitiously elbowed Irvine in the ribs.  
  
  
  
"Uh...yeah," Irvine added. "Sorry, Zell. Maybe next time." They both hurried away.  
  
  
  
"Instructor D! Instructor D!" Ethan was calling.  
  
  
  
"It's Zell," Zell corrected in an irritated tone. "Zell Dincht."  
  
  
  
Ethan gestured towards the two empty seats beside him. "They snuck out," he said in a concerned voice. "Both of them."  
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
"Are you sure they went here?" Zell asked Ethan as they both rushed past the entrance of the Training Center.  
  
  
  
Ethan nodded his head vigorously. "I heard them whispering to each other while you were still speaking with Mr. Kinneas and Ms. Tilmett."  
  
  
  
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Zell demanded.  
  
  
  
"Mommy said to never interrupt adults while they're talking," the kid said matter-of-factly.  
  
  
  
Zell slapped his forehead. "Jeez, we're not even adults yet!" he said in an exasperated tone.  
  
  
  
Ethan shrugged in reply.  
  
  
  
They soon reached the threshold between the hallway and the training grounds. "Wait for us here," Zell instructed Ethan.  
  
  
  
Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out his Ehrgeiz gloves. He chastised himself for not junctioning any magic or GFs this morning. He would just have to rely on his own strength for the time being.  
  
  
  
"Jared! Keisha!" he yelled as he traveled down the path. "Answer me!"  
  
  
  
"Instructor D! Over here!" a small voice that could only belong to Keisha called from the distance.  
  
  
  
Zell sprinted towards the voice and soon came to a clearing where Jared and Keisha were standing cluelessly.  
  
  
  
"Instructor D!" Keisha cried out happily. "I'm so glad to see you!"  
  
  
  
Dizzy with relief at having found them unharmed, Zell tried his best to put on a stern expression and admonished, "You crazy squirts, what were you doing here anyway? You know it's against the rules for junior students to come here unaccompanied."  
  
  
  
"Instructor Trepe told us about the secret place here," Jared replied.  
  
  
  
Zell placed his hands on his hips and frowned, looking comical at the same time. "Then why didn't you wait for me? You know you guys can't fight."  
  
  
  
"Jared said he could beat up a T-Rexaur anytime," Keisha answered ruefully.  
  
  
  
A loud bestial roar pierced the atmosphere around them. Zell pulled Keisha and Jared closer to him and said softly, "Run to the exit as fast as you can. NOW!"  
  
  
  
Just as the children sped towards the exit, a gigantic T-Rexaur emerged from the grove of trees at Zell's right. Zell rolled to the ground just in time to escape the reptile's initial lunge.  
  
  
  
The children were a little ways ahead of him now, and Zell sprinted after them before the T-Rexaur could give chase. "Faster!" he urged them. "Faster!"  
  
  
  
Behind them, on its two large feet, the T-Rexaur was bounding towards them quickly closing in on the few meters between its mouth and Zell's head.  
  
  
  
Escape was futile, Zell realized, and he stopped, whirled around and drove his fist into the monster's belly. The creature roared in annoyance rather then in pain, and it stopped and swung its long tail towards Zell, knocking him roughly to the ground.  
  
  
  
Zell immediately rolled to his feet, cursing himself once again for having begun the day unprepared. He dodged another of the T- Rexaur's toothy lunges and landed a right hook on the reptile's cranium. It howled in pain and retaliated with a snap at Zell's left arm, tearing away both some fabric and flesh.  
  
  
  
Zell let out a pained cry and kicked at T-Rexaur's leg so hard he could hear the crunching sound of breaking bones beneath its thick hide. The T-Rexaur roared and stepped back, evidently limping now on its fractured leg.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, the beast lunged towards Zell, catching him off- guard. Its teeth clamped on his injured arm and raised him from the ground, swinging him around to spite him.  
  
  
  
The sickening sound of a dislocating shoulder resounded in Zell's ears. His wounds were bleeding freely now, blood gushing out of the T-Rexaur's mouth like a fountain of crimson liquid. As he fought to stay conscious, somewhere in his mind, he sensed that energy was building quickly inside of him. He suddenly found himself bursting with vigor, his fist golden with luminescence.  
  
  
  
With a loud war cry, Zell punched the T-Rexaur's jaw with renewed strength. In pain, the beast released him, clumsily dropping him onto the ground.  
  
  
  
Zell abruptly stood up and rushed towards the creature, missing it by a few inches as he breezed by. He raced around the circumference of the world and returned to where the T-Rexaur was, driving his fist into it with a force so powerful, the area around him exploded with energy. When the air settled down, he collapsed onto the ground with exhaustion.  
  
  
  
But the T-Rexaur had somehow survived the blow. Summoning the last of its dying strength, it raised its foot over its inert opponent.  
  
  
  
On the verge of unconsciousness, Zell saw Squall materialize out of nowhere and cast a Blizzaga on the monster, killing it instantly. And just before he slipped into a state of suspended animation, he saw two strangers rushing towards him with concerned expressions. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Stranger Things…  
  
Author: Collaboration fic between Kasa no Miko and FalconIce  
  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 is not ours and will never be and if you sue us, you won't get anything but cute and cuddly dust bunnies…^.^v  
  
Warnings: An oddball sense of humor and plot holes! Spot them and win a prize!!! * sweatdrop*  
  
Pairings: OCxOC and OCxOC  
  
Rating: PG-13 For the violence and the implications, I guess?  
  
Note: It's our first collaboration so it's a bit weord and we had fun with self inserts no da!  
  
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/twilight_wings and http://www.geocities.com/shards_of_dewprism  
  
Feedback: Is our livelihood, our food and our God! REVIEWS!!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble  
  
  
  
As he awoke, he was welcomed with the grinning faces of two girls. Must be new, he thought, for he didn't recognize the uniforms they were wearing.  
  
  
  
"HI ZELL!" they both chirped at him excitedly.  
  
  
  
"Uh...who are you?" he asked but winced as his injuries came back to his consciousness.  
  
  
  
"Careful... we just cured you and your bones still need to mend. There is just so much healing materia can do!" the girl with short hair said as her grin broadened further.  
  
  
  
"Materia?" he asked perplexed.  
  
  
  
"It's another sort of magic Zell... and here they are..." the other girl with brown wavy hair explained as she nudged the girl beside her who was fumbling with her pockets.  
  
  
  
The other girl then came out with these small marble sized balls of different colors. "Cool aren't they?!"  
  
  
  
Zell just winced as another shot of pain coursed through his arm. He looked down to see a very whole looking arm beside him.  
  
  
  
"How did you do this?" he asked astonished at his still intact arm.  
  
  
  
"The miracles of materia and that Trinken here is very proficient in the arts of sensing." the shorthaired girl said as she gestured to her friend.  
  
  
  
The other girl then waved her hand at him. "Hi!" she smiled.  
  
  
  
So he smiled back and winced some more as he felt multiple bruises on his face. Man, he must be pretty beaten up!  
  
  
  
He looked behind the girls and noticed Squall who was just looking bored and probably was just about to leave, he surmised. Boy! This school had no appreciation of his talents whatsoever. Even his friends ignored him. He sighed dejectedly. Well at least these girls cared for him no matter how little. He also noticed that they were looking at him rather queerly, their eyes were sparkling somewhat. It was bothering him a lot so he asked them why they were looking at him like that. He was suddenly glomped by both girls, one on each side. He winced as the pain from his injuries woke up.  
  
  
  
"Girls... my... injuries..." he pleaded.  
  
  
  
"Sorry for that Zell...it's just that we've heard so much about you and noticed that nobody appreciated your wonderful talents...so...we requested to transfer here from Galbadia garden ...We are great fans of yours and we really admire just about everything about you!" The shorthaired girl's eyes sparkled some more.  
  
  
  
"Well, this is getting quite awkward so let me introduce us. I'm Trinken and my abilities consist of inborn magical talent! I'm upgrading them to full level. Oh! In addition, this is my friend Koorime, she can pick up and wield a sword efficiently, and it weighs like three times heavier than she does! Almost forgot! She can also use those round materia things!" she happily explained.  
  
  
  
The girl who she mentioned as Koorime flashed him a v-sign and a big grin. The thing the girl said about the sword was very true. The sword was bulging out of her back and it was two heads taller than her and probably weighed about a ton. He gaped at her in astonishment.  
  
  
  
"So you're impressed by this huh?" She asked as she twirled the HUGE sword around with just one hand.  
  
  
  
His eyebrow was twitching unconsciously as a sweatdrop appeared behind his head.  
  
  
  
"We're also your new transfer students!" they almost screamed.  
  
  
  
Zell just gaped at what they said. He couldn't believe his luck. First he gets ravaged by a T-Rexaur then he gets healed by two weird girls who simply adored him, (that was extremely flattering though), although they were just a bit too giddy for him but at least now somebody appreciated him who was about his age. The last thing was the worst, these girls were extremely strong and their reason for transfer was so superficial that he wondered how they were granted permission especially with such a strict Garden as Galbadia. Mind boggling it was, and he was extremely boggled.  
  
  
  
7:30 a.m.  
  
Zell was walking on the corridor to the library. His mind was filled with the thoughts of what his class would be like with the two new girls. He sighed. They were stronger than even Squall and could probably ace the SeeD test quite easily but why go to his class? He sighed some more. Well, they were having a class at the library now and this would be their first day in Balamb. He had to make sure they felt at home.  
  
  
  
He entered the classroom and immediately facefaulted at the ridiculous situation in front of him. Koorime was twirling her oversized sword over the students' heads and Trinken was having a little fireworks display coming out of her hands at the ahhhs and oohhhs of all his students.  
  
  
  
He coughed slightly to get the attention of the two girls in his class. They immediately turned their heads to him and their eyes started to sparkle again. Before he could utter another word, the two girls were glomping unto both his legs and squeezing really hard. "Girls..." he coughed. They raised their sparkling eyes to him.  
  
  
  
"ZELL, YOU'RE SOOOO CUTE!" they chorused together.  
  
  
  
Zell facefaulted yet again with the background of his giggling and chortling class. Damn, this just wasn't his day. He then carefully pried the two smiling girls from his legs. They smiled at him some more before grabbing two chairs to sit down. He laughed a bit nervously then started on his lesson for the day.  
  
  
  
"Today we will be discussing about the process of junctioning GFs. It is a very hard topic so all of you should listen even the both of you!" he told the two giggling girls in front of him.  
  
  
  
Koorime still giggling," I know all about junctioning Instructor D! So does Trinken!"  
  
  
  
Well, I guess they should know. After all, they are very strong and they also came from Galbadia.  
  
  
  
"I volunteer Instructor D! I'll explain to the whole class all about GFs!"  
  
  
  
This was gonna be a long day. His head was already starting to pound. He'll have to last long enough to finish his class. He still had to tour Koorime and Trinken around. He groaned. 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Stranger Things…  
  
Author: Collaboration fic between Kasa no Miko and FalconIce  
  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 is not ours and will never be and if you sue us, you won't get anything but cute and cuddly dust bunnies…^.^v  
  
Warnings: An oddball sense of humor and plot holes! Spot them and win a prize!!! * sweatdrop*  
  
Pairings: OCxOC and OCxOC  
  
Rating: PG-13 For the violence and the implications, I guess?  
  
Note: It's our first collaboration so it's a bit weord and we had fun with self inserts no da!  
  
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/twilight_wings and http://www.geocities.com/shards_of_dewprism  
  
Feedback: Is our livelihood, our food and our God! REVIEWS!!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
CHAPTER III-The Abduction  
  
  
  
"Where are those girls?" Zell muttered through his gritted teeth as he stood alone at the Garden directory, waiting for his two students.  
  
  
  
"Instructor D! Instructor D!" a familiar voice called from behind him.  
  
  
  
Zell turned and saw Ethan running towards him.  
  
  
  
"Instructor D!" the boy repeated. He stopped in front of Zell, trying to catch his breath. When he did, he continued, "Jared and Keisha told me to apologize to you for them. They said they're really sorry."  
  
  
  
Zell shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "That's okay. I needed some training anyway. Were you the one who called Squall?"  
  
  
  
Ethan nodded his head proudly. "Yep! I ran to the library when you left."  
  
  
  
Zell playfully tousled Ethan's brown hair. "Good job, kid. If you didn't get Squall, I'd have been that T-Rexaur's lunch."  
  
  
  
"ZEEEEEEELLLLLLL!" Two voices chimed in the distance.  
  
  
  
Zell rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned to scold them for being late but when he caught sight of them, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped uselessly open.  
  
  
  
Koorime and Trinken, both smart in new SeeD student uniforms, were heading towards him, a half-consumed hotdog in each of the girls' hand. Slung on their other hands were two plastic bags filled to the brim with...with...  
  
  
  
"Hi, Zell!" Koorime greeted, waving a hand at him. "Look what we got for you!" She jogged the last few meters and shoved a bag towards him.  
  
  
  
"What the-" Zell began, but was at a loss for words when he saw what was inside. "Hotdogs?!"  
  
  
  
"Yup," Trinken confirmed as she arrived. She handed the other bulging bag to him. "Alllllllll for you."  
  
  
  
Zell raised an eyebrow at them. "Me? Why?"  
  
  
  
"BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU!!!" They both glomped onto him tightly.  
  
  
  
"Please..." Zell said as he struggled to breathe. "Air...need...air..." The girls instantly released him.  
  
  
  
Zell glanced back at the contents of the plastic bags. Hotdogs? he thought, touched by the girls' kindness. All for me? My friends never gave me something like this. This is too...flattering.  
  
  
  
"You were late by almost an hour," Zell told them. "Did it take you that long to line up for these?"  
  
  
  
Trinken shook her head. "Nah...it took us only a minute to get those hotdogs. The cafeteria lady immediately handed them to us when Koorime threatened to impale her with her sword."  
  
  
  
"Ooooohhhh..." Ethan, who was still standing beside Zell, remarked. "Cool sword, miss! How can you carry it?"  
  
  
  
Koorime unstrapped her sword and waved it around with two fingers, making everyone in the direct vicinity drop down to the floor. "See? Just like this."  
  
  
  
"May I try?" Ethan said as he got up from the floor.  
  
  
  
"Sure," Koorime consented, carelessly handing it to him.  
  
  
  
As soon as the sword left her fingers, it fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud, bringing Ethan along with it. "Hey, help," he squeaked.  
  
  
  
"But if it took you only a minute, then..." Zell said, also getting up from the floor.  
  
  
  
Koorime gestured towards Trinken. "Trinken had trouble transporting us here from the dormitory. Her kasa still needs some practicing."  
  
  
  
Trinken gave Zell a sheepish grin, holding a large wide-brimmed hat in front of her. She said, "You won't believe where we've been. We even ended up in President Laguna's bathtub, with him in it!"  
  
  
  
A large sweatdrop ran down Zell's head. "Couldn't you just have walked?"  
  
  
  
"Ummmm..." they both said sheepishly, shrugging their shoulders, their eyes all sparkly.  
  
  
  
Zell let out a huge sigh and proceeded towards the library entrance, the girls following closely behind him. "Okay, girls," he began. "This is the Garden library, where we do all our research and-"  
  
  
  
"Zell! Zell!" a voice from the distance interrupted him.  
  
  
  
Zell turned to see Quistis running towards him, an alarmed look on her face. What could have happened?  
  
  
  
"Zell! I'm so glad you're here," Quistis said breathlessly. "There's been trouble."  
  
  
  
"Trouble?"  
  
  
  
"General Caraway has taken Rinoa forcibly and brought her back to Deling City. He left a note saying he didn't want his daughter to be associated with anyone who is allied with Esthar," Quistis explained.  
  
  
  
"Taken her," Zell said. "But how? She was in the Garden-"  
  
  
  
"She wasn't in the garden, Zell," Quistis corrected. "She was at Balamb City with Squall. He was beaten up pretty badly and left in the forest to die."  
  
  
  
Zell couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Squall? Beaten up? Since when?"  
  
  
  
Quistis fell silent. "I don't know. But he's in serious condition. He's in the infirmary right now with Dr. Kadowaki. He's being treated for internal bruises."  
  
  
  
"Internal bruises? How can anyone accomplish that? Surely not ordinary Galbadian soldiers," Zell told her.  
  
  
  
"That's what you'll have to do," Quistis said. "Find out what really happened. A few witnesses at Balamb told me that some Galbadian soldiers had approached the couple and asked to speak with them outside the city. No one saw anything after that."  
  
  
  
Zell glanced at the two students behind him. "But the girls-"  
  
  
  
"Take the girls," Quistis instructed. "That will be their SeeD field test. And if you do find what's going on around here, do what you can in your power to stop it. Irvine will accompany you, of course. He'll meet you at the gate. Selphie still has to supervise another SeeD mission, and I have to take over the Garden in Squall's place." She began to head back to the elevator. "Good luck!"  
  
  
  
Zell whirled around to face his two students. "This is no ordinary mission," he told them seriously. "This is about my friends. I have to save Rinoa and find out what's going on, too."  
  
  
  
"Awwww...Zell, you're so determined and loyal to your friends," Koorime and Trinken said, hugging him on both sides.  
  
  
  
Zell smiled uneasily and wiped the sweat from his brow. This was going to be one looooooong mission.  
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
"Internal bruises? That's...strange," Trinken said as the three of them headed towards the infirmary to check on Squall.  
  
"Yeah," Koorime agreed, her sword now strapped to her back. "I mean, there's no human or monster who could inflict such injuries. It's too...impossible."  
  
"General Caraway must have something up his sleeve," Zell mused out loudly. "Or else, why would he want Rinoa back so suddenly? And so badly that he beat up Squall just to get her? And Squall, how could he be so helpless?"  
  
"You can't go in," Dr. Kadowaki told them as they reached the infirmary entrance.  
  
"And why not?" Zell asked, stamping a foot in front of him. "We're his friends. We have a right."  
  
"I'm sorry, Zell," Dr. Kadowaki explained. "Squall specifically requested me to not let anyone in. Even close friends. He didn't explain why."  
  
"What about Quistis?" Trinken pointed out. "I mean, how did she get in?"  
  
"She didn't," Dr. Kadowaki corrected. "I only told her what happened. She didn't even get to see him."  
  
"But doesn't Zell have a right?" Koorime asked, reaching for her sword.  
  
Zell instantly laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Let's just go, Koorime," he said, leading her away. "Squall probably doesn't want us around."  
  
Koorime was somewhat still annoyed, but she relented and went with him. It was only when they reached the Garden Hall that they realized that something was amiss.  
  
"Hey, where's Trinken?" Zell queried.  
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
Replacing her kasa on her head, Trinken crept to the side of Squall's bed, watching him labor over every breath.  
  
"Squall," she whispered, stroking his dark bangs away from his face. His scar was still there, etched forever on his forehead. "Squall, answer me."  
  
Squall opened his eyes a slit. "Hm?" he mumbled.  
  
"I'm just a friend," Trinken told him, gently closing his eyes.  
  
She carefully placed a palm on her forehead, closing her eyes too. Summoning her inborn magic, she soon felt a warm, cozy feeling passing through her fingers. In a few moments, she called out some of Squall's memories.  
  
The first thing she saw was a white creature growling at her. No, it was growling at Squall. She was seeing it through his eyes. Beside the creature stood a tall dark blurry figure. The memory was still a little hazy, but as she concentrated on it, the picture soon became clearer.  
  
The creature was actually a large cat of some sort. A panther perhaps. But according to her knowledge of the world, there was no white panther that existed. The figure standing beside it was a handsome young man with blond hair, dressed in a black suit. He was smiling evilly at her, a glint in his eyes. As Trinken watched, the panther suddenly leapt at her, and the memory went black.  
  
Squall was suddenly moaning beside her, sweat beading on his forehead. It was as if he was in severe pain. Trinken took her hand away, and as she did so, his moaning intensified.  
  
"Squall? Is something wrong?" Dr. Kadowaki's voice came from outside the room.  
  
Grabbing her kasa, Trinken prepared to disappear into it, but not after casting one last glance at the pained, tortured Squall Leonhart. 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Stranger Things…  
  
Author: Collaboration fic between Kasa no Miko and FalconIce  
  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 is not ours and will never be and if you sue us, you won't get anything but cute and cuddly dust bunnies…^.^v  
  
Warnings: An oddball sense of humor and plot holes! Spot them and win a prize!!! * sweatdrop*  
  
Pairings: OCxOC and OCxOC  
  
Rating: PG-13 For the violence and the implications, I guess?  
  
Note: It's our first collaboration so it's a bit weord and we had fun with self inserts no da!  
  
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/twilight_wings and http://www.geocities.com/shards_of_dewprism  
  
Feedback: Is our livelihood, our food and our God! REVIEWS!!!!  
  
  
  
CHAPTER IV- I Know You  
  
  
  
Zell stared listlessly out the window as Irvine drove the car all the way to Balamb City. Across from him, slumped in her seat, Koorime sat silently, fiddling with a few materia orbs in her hand.  
  
Zell watched Koorime, his gaze traveling over her features...her pretty brown hair that went well with her SeeD student uniform, her deep dark eyes, her feminine figure that concealed her inhuman strength, the playful smile that crossed her lips once in a while...Just his luck to have her as his student, someone who was nice, creative, fun-loving and sociable. God must be so good to him.  
  
And Trinken, too, like Koorime, was a gift from heaven. While Koorime had both physical and magical strength, Trinken had amazing spiritual strength which allowed her to conjure all sorts of inborn magic. It wasn't surprising that her personality matched her hidden power. She was quiet most of the time, and had longish wavy hair and intelligent eyes that seemed to be flickering with all sorts of thoughts and ideas. Even the kasa she brought around with her reflected her character, something that looked ordinary, but when you discover its depth, you can literally drown in it.  
  
"I think I know where Trinken is," Koorime suddenly said, breaking the silence.  
  
"Hm?" Zell asked. "Where?"  
  
"She's probably having trouble with her kasa," Koorime answered knowledgeably. "She's somewhere out there in the world, and we'll meet up with her soon."  
  
Zell smiled. "I hope she arrives very-"  
  
There was a sudden flash of light, and Trinken landed in Zell's lap. "Sorry I'm late, Instructor," she apologized, getting up from where she was. She plopped down on the seat beside Koorime.  
  
"Where were you?" Zell demanded, trying his best to look stern. He failed. With his cheerful, comical personality, it was hard to be cold and strict. "You made us wait fifteen minutes at the gate, wondering where you've gone off to."  
  
Trinken turned away, not meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry," she said. "I ran off without informing you. It won't happen again."  
  
Koorime looked at her friend peculiarly. "Is something wrong with you, Trinken? You seem a little too serious."  
  
Trinken told Zell and Koorime about her encounter with Squall.  
  
"You saw his memory?" Zell queried. "How can you do that?"  
  
Trinken shrugged her shoulders. "I can't really explain it. It has something to do with becoming one with the other person and trying to see through his eyes."  
  
Koorime suddenly burst into a fit of giggles.  
  
Trinken shoved her a little. "I don't mean that, Koorime," she told her friend. "I meant that I have to merge my chi with the other person by touching him and searching through his mind." She shrugged again. "But I just learned that from my sensei, and I can only capture bits and pieces of the other person's memories."  
  
"But a white panther..." Zell crossed his legs in his trademark way. "What's with it? How could it hurt Squall internally?"  
  
"I don't know," Koorime put in. "But it seems to me that we have to talk to this General Caraway in person. He might give us some answers."  
  
  
  
**********  
  
"Why are we at Balamb City anyway?" Koorime asked. "I mean, are we taking the train to Deling City? Where's the Ragnarok anyway?"  
  
  
  
"It's at Esthar," Zell replied as they headed towards Zell's house for some refreshments. "Being repaired. It's supposed to have been delivered to Balamb Garden yesterday. But I think Laguna forgot again."  
  
  
  
"Zell? Is that you?" a motherly voice came from the kitchen as they all entered the house.  
  
  
  
"Hi, Ma," Zell greeted, walking up to his mother and kissing her on the cheek. "I brought some friends, Ma, and we're stopping here for a while before we start with the mission."  
  
  
  
"Oh sure, Zell," Ma Dincht told him. "I'll prepare some food and drinks." She turned to the rest of the group. "Please go to the living room and make yourselves at home." She returned to her cooking.  
  
  
  
As Zell faced the group, he caught sight of Koorime and Trinken gazing adoringly at him, their eyes glistening.  
  
  
  
"Awwww..." they both remarked.  
  
  
  
Zell shook his head, smiling. "Come on, come on. Let's head to the living room."  
  
  
  
"Hey, Zell," Koorime said, walking up to him, her eyes wide and pleading. "Can we go up to your room?"  
  
  
  
"Umm..."  
  
  
  
"Please?" Trinken added, blinking her eyes for effect.  
  
  
  
Zell was one who couldn't stand sad puppy faces, so he threw his arms up in exasperation and declared, "Fine, fine! Just don't mess anything up."  
  
  
  
"Yeah!" The girls instantly dashed up the stairs to Zell's room.  
  
  
  
Zell glanced at Irvine. "What about you, Irv? You stayin' here?"  
  
  
  
Irvine shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's okay." His gaze fell on a stack of magazines on the desk. "Hey, porn!" He rushed to the table, flipping through the stack. "Are these yours, Zell?"  
  
  
  
Zell shook his head vigorously. "Of course not! It's yours, don't you remember? You gave them to me because you said you ran out of space in your room and Squall wouldn't take them."  
  
  
  
Irvine was openly ogling a picture of a woman on the first page. "Yup, I guess I'll definitely stay here for a while. You go ahead, I'll be alright," he told Zell, his gaze never leaving the page.  
  
  
  
Zell shook his head again as he ascended the stairs to his room. He suddenly realized that everything was quiet in his bedroom, as if no one was there. Where were Koorime and Trinken?  
  
  
  
"Girls," he began, pushing open the door.  
  
  
  
He stopped when he saw that Koorime and Trinken were both sleeping peacefully on his bed, spent and somewhat exhausted with the day's events. He couldn't help but smile and approach them, his eyes never leaving their tranquil, angelic faces.  
  
  
  
A part of him noticed that they had their boots on when they fell asleep, the shoes now placed on his bed. But who really cared if his bed was dirty? Not when two darlings were slumbering fitfully on his mattress.  
  
  
  
He pulled out a blanket and draped it over them, taking care not to wake either of them. He gave them one last long look, then picked up his hoverboard. He needed some activity right now, something to keep him busy.  
  
  
  
His hoverboard in hand, Zell walked out of the house and began skating around Balamb. When he got bored, he went to the outskirts of the city, hoping to run into some monster so he could train a little before they leave for Deling City.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, in the distance, he spotted something unusual. A glint of metal in the forest nearby, which was quite strange because transports rarely entered the forest. What could it be?  
  
  
  
He soared towards the heart of the forest, careful to stay in the protection of the trees. As soon as he neared the place where he spotted the glint, he began to hear some voices.  
  
  
  
"Are you sure you obliterated all evidence that we were here this morning?" someone was saying.  
  
  
  
"Yes, sir," another replied.  
  
  
  
"We don't want anyone finding out about us," the first person went on. "Anyone who does...must be killed."  
  
  
  
"What about that black-garbed man with the General's daughter? Do you think he lived?" a third voice asked.  
  
  
  
"He will live, for a while," a younger male voice answered. "He will die a slow, painful death. And he cannot talk, because his vocal chords will not allow him to do so. In other words, he is a goner."  
  
  
  
"Why didn't you just kill him right away?" the first man demanded. "He might tell someone."  
  
  
  
"I assure you, Sergeant, no words shall escape his lips," the young man replied. "And remember this, you cannot dictate how I work."  
  
  
  
Zell hopped off his hoverboard and crept stealthily through the trees to catch a glimpse of the speakers.  
  
  
  
A stealth jet stood off to one side of the clearing, which explained the glint of metal in the sunlight. Several yards away, a group of men were talking. One of them, he noted, was a man in a military uniform. Another was a relatively young man about his age in a black suit and trenchcoat. Lying at his feet was a pure white panther, its eyes closed lazily.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, the panther glanced up and glared at Zell's direction. Zell hid quickly into the trees, but it was too late. The panther stood up and nudged its master gently.  
  
  
  
"Atropos tells me there is an intruder watching us and listening into our conversation," the young man told the others. "Find him and kill him." Some of the men, Galbadian soldiers, instantly dispersed.  
  
  
  
The panther was still glaring at Zell's direction, and so was its master. Zell silently picked up his hoverboard and was just about to flee on it when a hand suddenly grabbed at his previously injured arm and lifted him a few inches above the ground.  
  
  
  
"Here he is, Sergeant," a deep, gruff voice said.  
  
  
  
Zell turned to see a large, tall, burly man holding his arm. He was dressed in a sleeveless muscle shirt and camouflage pants, with combat boots to match. Sneering at his quarry, he shook Zell a little, enjoying the sight of the young man wincing in pain.  
  
  
  
Gritting his teeth, Zell swung his other fist to strike at the huge man. However, despite his size and body mass, the soldier deftly caught Zell's fist in the blink of an eye, and twisted it painfully behind his back.  
  
  
  
"You're a stupid kid for having gone here," the man sneered. "For that, you'll have to meet your death."  
  
  
  
Still carrying Zell as if he were a child, the soldier walked towards the clearing and dumped Zell in front of the young panther owner.  
  
  
  
Zell instantly got up and swung his fist at the young man, hitting him squarely on the jaw. "So you were the one who hurt Squall!" Zell cried angrily. "Why? Why him? Who are you, anyway?"  
  
  
  
The young man, who looked about eighteen or so, rubbed his jaw coolly and smiled at Zell. "You don't need to know my name. Such information won't help you when you're about to die." Glancing at the panther crouched in an alert position beside him, he added, "Atropos, do with him as you please."  
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
"Koorime! Koorime! Get up!"  
  
  
  
Koorime groggily opened her eyes and demanded impatiently, "What?!"  
  
  
  
Trinken glanced out the window. "I sense something wrong in the air, and it has something to do with Zell."  
  
  
  
Koorime instantly jumped out of the bed, grabbing her huge sword and pouch of materia. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's mosey!"  
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
Atropos growled at the intruder before him, and Cyrus smiled in satisfaction. He was excited at the prospect of having another person tortured before his eyes.  
  
  
  
Without warning, Atropos leapt at Zell for its initial attack, when suddenly, it crashed into an invisible wall between Zell and it. Snarling in annoyance, it bounded towards Zell again, and was stopped by the unseen barrier.  
  
  
  
Cyrus looked up and saw a young girl in a braid and SeeD student uniform materialize in front of his supposed victim. Another female student followed, brandishing a gigantic sword at the soldiers around her. Lastly, a young man in a brown trenchcoat appeared and swiftly flipped out his shotgun.  
  
  
  
"You..." Cyrus said under his breath, gazing strangely at the girl with the sword. He swore that he had seen her before, when he was still a teenager. "Koorime..."  
  
  
  
"Huh?" Koorime asked, amazedly staring at him as if he had grown two heads. "You...know me?"  
  
  
  
A Galbadian soldier suddenly lunged towards her, and she deftly brought down her large sword, nearly slicing the man in half. He fell to the ground, quickly grabbing a potion to cure himself.  
  
  
  
"Stop!" Cyrus ordered in a large voice. All was silent at his command. "We shall leave right now," he told the Galbadian troops.  
  
  
  
"Wait!" the persistent sergeant protested. "Aren't we supposed to kill them first? They saw us, they will know what we're up to."  
  
  
  
Cyrus whipped his head towards him. "Do not forget that I am head of this mission," he said between his gritted teeth. "Obey your orders like a good soldier." Then, turning to Zell, Koorime, Trinken and Irvine, he said in a pleasant voice, "Till next time." He gestured to Atropos, glanced one last time at Koorime, disappeared in a shapeless mist, dispersing into the air. The troops hurried to the airship and retreated.  
  
  
  
Koorime stared confusedly after the plane, her brows meeting together. Zell walked up to her and asked, "Do you know that guy?"  
  
  
  
Koorime shook her head vigorously. "Of course not. But...I have a strange feeling that I have seen him somewhere before. I can't remember, though..." She trudged off to sit on a rock at the side, turning her back to them while drowned in her contemplation.  
  
  
  
"Koorime...doesn't really remember her past that well," Trinken informed Zell, standing beside him. "She's...um...she used to be an experimental specimen at Esthar. The scientists there had infused her with mako, trying to follow the legend of the Great Cloud Strife. It somewhat messes with her memories though."  
  
  
  
Zell stared at her, astonished at this piece of information. "Really?" he asked. "Is that why she's inhumanly strong?"  
  
  
  
Trinken nodded her head slowly, then turned to see Irvine traipsing towards the sullen Koorime, doing a little dance at the same time for Koorime. Trinken stifled a giggle.  
  
  
  
"Let's go," Koorime suddenly said, standing up and ignoring Irvine as if he had never existed. "To Deling City. We're sure to find some answers there." 


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Stranger Things…  
  
Author: Collaboration fic between Kasa no Miko and FalconIce  
  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 is not ours and will never be and if you sue us, you won't get anything but cute and cuddly dust bunnies…^.^v  
  
Warnings: An oddball sense of humor and plot holes! Spot them and win a prize!!! * sweatdrop*  
  
Pairings: OCxOC and OCxOC  
  
Rating: PG-13 For the violence and the implications, I guess?  
  
Note: It's our first collaboration so it's a bit weird and we had fun with self inserts no da!  
  
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/twilight_wings and http://www.geocities.com/shards_of_dewprism  
  
Feedback: Is our livelihood, our food and our God! REVIEWS!!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter V- All That's Happened by FalconIce  
  
They arrived at Balamb Train Station and Zell walked towards the cashier that sold the tickets. He asked for four first class train tickets and was given the usual first class accommodations for the SeeDs here in Balamb. He then motioned the others to follow. They looked up to him with tired and down faces except for Koorime who's head was still bent low with brooding. He was starting to get worried at his new students since it was their first real time experience at a situation and now everything was turning way too complicated for first timers.  
  
He hopped in the train and placed the key card on the slot. The door slid open with a low whine and parted to reveal the compartment housing their room for the all night trip to Timber. Zell sighed, even the huge plush couch in the middle of the room didn't cheer him up. His head spun around suddenly at the sound of Koorime dropping with exhaustion in the couch beside him. He looked startled to see her face pinched in pain. He touched her forehead and it was burning so hot that he had to withdraw his hand. He felt helpless at the situation and he noticed that his hand shook.  
  
Zell felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see Trinken looking at him worriedly. He motioned to the burning up Koorime on the couch and Trinken lightly traced her hands on her friend's forehead and nodded before sitting on the couch beside him.  
  
"Won't you do anything?" Zell asked the calmly sitting Trinken.  
  
"You really want to know what is wrong with her?" she asked, eyeing Zell with narrowed eyes, "you won't like the answer very much..."  
  
"Of course I do! I'm responsible for the safety of my students!" he spoke, determined to persuade Trinken to tell him what's wrong with Koorime since it broke his heart to see her face bleed pain like that.  
  
"Well...let's see...it started three years ago..."  
  
  
  
Trinken was in this world for only a couple of months and she had already been able to get a decent job by delivering people's stuff. She wasn't very good at it since her Kasa kept teleporting her to weird places but when it did work it was very efficient and her employer understood this very well.  
  
Today, she was off to mail some very important documents to Esthar from the new research center somewhere in the south. She tried going by Kasa and it always seemed to transport her to this weird tower somewhere in the Centra continent, she quit after she tried it and landed in a huge puddle of stagnant and insect-filled water. So now, she was using the bridge to get to Esthar. It would take her half the afternoon but at least she would be able to do her job and be paid then she could buy herself some hotdogs to eat.  
  
She was skipping happily singing a No Da song when she tripped on something, just right when she was a few feet from the Esthar boundary. She sighed and lifted herself off the ground and carefully arranged her messed up robes. She looked down at what she tripped on and almost sat down heavily again.  
  
It was a young girl...maybe older by one year. She had short golden-brown hair and a very pale complexion and by the look of it, she was beaten up pretty badly. Trinken took off her Kasa and rummaged around for a bottle of ointment. She noticed that the girl kept mumbling something about experiment and it hurts...curious Trinken decided to use her inborn magical talent to read people's memories. She slowly got some of the ointment she just found and ribbed her hands with them and started to massage the girl's temples with her warm hands and then closed her eyes.  
  
  
  
She could see that she was in the body of someone very young who was currently romping on a mud puddle. Trinken smiled despite herself and she noticed then that the girl was raising her eyes to someone who was calling her but then, the memory faded. It was replaced by a memory that flashed by quickly but no matter how fast it passed by, Trinken could feel her body tremble at the pain of whatever the girl experienced there. She could hear the girl's physical and mental shudder as the memory passed by.  
  
Trinken searched the girl's mind more and found a nice quiet memory tucked in between all the painful ones. The girl who she found out was Koorime was sitting in a beautiful room decorated with blue to match her Mako infused blue eyes. She was swinging her legs waiting for somebody to come. That somebody, Trinken thought, must be very kind to her since she was anticipating this visit so much after all the long days of torture she had to endure.  
  
Trinken was just about to see the door open but the memory faded back into endless pain. Before that happened though, Trinken could hear the faint voice of a young boy who said to the happily waiting Koorime... "Koorime...I'm here...and I'll always be here whenever you need me...forever...".  
  
Trinken felt a tear roll down her cheek but was soon cut off as a memory of the girl's escape flashed vividly through her mind. Koorime was running but her feet kept being tangled up and mostly she tripped. Her memory was very blurred and Trinken couldn't focus enough as the memory flashed faster through the scene.  
  
Koorime was being supported by the boy again but this time he was older, about 13. Trinken couldn't see his face because Koorime was looking down and her eyes were just staring as if her mind wasn't there at all. Trinken could hear the boy whisper to Koorime's unhearing ear every few minutes or when they stumbled, and what he said almost broke her heart.  
  
"Hang on 'Rime! We're gonna get out of this...you and me together forever just as we promised!" his voice choked as gunfire could be heard. "Damn! They're getting nearer."  
  
He lowered Koorime on the ground and let her face him. Trinken could see that his eyes were watering as he softly bent down to kiss Koorime on the lips and started running to draw off the people who were chasing them.  
  
Before he completely disappeared though he uttered his farewell to his beloved, "Koorime! I'll be back, I promise and we WILL live together forever! I just gotta take care of this first..." Trinken knew that, that was the last time Koorime ever saw of the guy.  
  
Trinken wiped her tears with her hanky but cursed herself for not focusing more carefully...she still wasn't able to clearly see the guy but his eyes were all that she could remember. Trinken looked down at the girl who was moaning in obvious pain. She quickly scooped her up with her hands and collapsed like a house of cards when the full weight of the girl hit her like a ton of bricks. She was so busy with her conflicting emotions that she entirely failed to notice a huge sword, roughly twice her height, strapped to the girl's back.  
  
She laid Koorime on the ground and sat down to think of ideas then she remembered the teleportation spell her old teacher taught her. Trinken started chanting the musical tones of the ancient spell.  
  
Twin lights appeared in he ground as two dragons surged high into the air. One was blue and the other red. Both dragons descended to Trinken and Koorime, wrapping them in draconic hugs and with a flash, both girls were gone.  
  
  
  
"So that's the story?" Zell asked. His throat was weirdly dry and his stomach felt like it was placed in a washing machine.  
  
"Pretty much...I got some more of her memories later but I could barely understand them and now...her memories are totally gone except for a few snatches of pain or a few brief moments of happiness." Trinken contemplated.  
  
"Do you think that Guy we saw back in Balamb's the one who loves Koorime?" Zell asked, everything falling together perfectly.  
  
"I knew I heard that voice from somewhere...now as you said that, everything just kinda falls together doesn't it?" Trinken smiles sadly.  
  
"Should we tell her?" Zell asked, concerned.  
  
"No...Took her long enough to forget...if we remind her again... I wouldn't know what would happen to her mind."  
  
"You're probably right...okay...let's just see what happens then... go get some sleep, you look tired Trinken." She smiled wearily at him before going to the lower bed bunk and promptly falling asleep.  
  
"You too Instructor...(yawn)...D..." she mumbled a she drifted off.  
  
Zell looked at Koorime and then to Trinka. These girls were more mature than they seemed and he smiled as he lay down next to the couch of the slumbering Koorime, he scanned the room once more before noticing that something was missing...  
  
Where was Irvine? 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Stranger Things…  
  
Author: Collaboration fic between Kasa no Miko and FalconIce  
  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 is not ours and will never be and if you sue us, you won't get anything but cute and cuddly dust bunnies…^.^v  
  
Warnings: An oddball sense of humor and plot holes! Spot them and win a prize!!! * sweatdrop*  
  
Pairings: OCxOC and OCxOC  
  
Rating: PG-13 For the violence and the implications, I guess?  
  
Note: It's our first collaboration so it's a bit weird and we had fun with self inserts no da!  
  
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/twilight_wings and http://www.geocities.com/shards_of_dewprism  
  
Feedback: Is our livelihood, our food and our God! REVIEWS!!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter VI- Haunted by FalconIce  
  
Cyrus was currently waiting in one of the exclusive hotels in Deling. He was impatiently fiddling with a black pen; he rolled it around in his palms to relieve some of the boredom he felt. Cyrus was angry with the late messenger. He had sent one to the Caraway Mansion some time this afternoon and it was already half past nine in the evening and the confounded messenger was still not back.  
  
He swiveled the chair to face the huge gold-framed mirror on top of the desk in front of him. Cyrus contemplated his appearance in the mirror. Gold black ear length hair, misty gray eyes, pale skin and a touch of side-swept bangs. He looked down and his eyes immediately focused around his neck. He folded the round object in his palm and held it tight. It was a round polished stone that he always seemed to wear. He kept it with him constantly but he didn't know how he ever got the thing. It glowed a little blue too. The scientist still couldn't find what was in the thing that made it glow like that, Cyrus mused and smiled in spite of the troubling day.  
  
His thoughts promptly wandered back to the girl he saw this afternoon with those damn SeeDs. She was oddly beautiful in her own way, there was something about her that made Cyrus relax and just stare at her. His mind was cluttered with the mental images he formed of her. Golden brown hair cut short around the ears and swept back a bit down to the nape of the neck. Her eyes seemed to glow a light blue tinge, which sent him looking back at the stone he held in his palm. So perfect and smooth.  
  
He didn't know why he knew her name but still couldn't believe the way the words just came out of his mouth and her answering look...he couldn't believe what he saw in those eyes the moment those words escaped his mouth. Shock and dread at the same time. He hadn't even seen the girl and the girl probably didn't know him at all. However, the way those blue eyes seemed to literally sparkle with energy and that huge sword on her back...  
  
Cyrus promptly shook his head to clear his mind yet again. Ever since he saw that girl he couldn't help but think and he even started day dreaming about her. This was pathetic! How can I rule the Gardens when the sights of a mere girl sent his heart fluttering like this? He muttered to himself and stood from the chair. He sighed.  
  
He'd forgotten about the messenger again because of those silly daydreams and the messenger was now knocking on the door of his private apartments. He stood up and fixed an intimidating scowl on his face. He opened the door and fixed his full glare on the cringing, messenger who coughed uncomfortably before responding.  
  
"Sir! Reporting for duty! Request to read the message aloud, Sir!" the messenger announced.  
  
Cyrus just glared some more at the messenger who was trying to shrink into nothingness. He grabbed the paper from the startled messenger's hands before slamming the door on the wide-eyed messenger. He curtly sat back on his chair and swiveled to face the mirror again.  
  
Greetings Cyrus,  
  
You have safely delivered my daughter back to me and I am very pleased at the quick results. You will be given the sum of 5,000,000 Gil as we promised. We will still be talking about the assassination of Edea Kramer and I certainly hope you and I will be able to do this.  
  
Signed by,  
  
Caraway  
  
Cyrus cursed to himself at the arrogance of the guy. What kind of guy kidnaps his own daughter and plan to assassinate the world's most powerful woman? He must be insane! However, Cyrus still had to work for him though...he just didn't know why but he somehow felt complied to do so.  
  
Cyrus rubbed his chin in contemplation then grimaced at what he felt. Stubble had begun to grow and he'd have to cut it again. Shaving was such a tedious job. He pushed himself up from the chair and gave the mirror one last look before going out of the room to buy some shaving cream.  
  
He faintly heard words form on his mind...Forever...what did he mean by that? He shook his head and proceeded down the stairs.  
  
Cyrus folded his arms and relaxed his shoulders. It was eight in the morning and the coffee he took made him feel a lot better than he did an hour ago. He looked down from the hill he was standing on.  
  
The plain outside of Deling wasn't one of the most beautiful but it did offer a very good breeze early in the morning. He felt the soft caress of the breeze as it ruffled his hair. He looked down to see the snoring Atropos beside him lying in the grass.  
  
He smiled as he vaguely remembered the first time he met Atropos. He'd been running from a bunch of mad scientists from Esthar when Atropos lunged out of the thick brushes and stalled the scientists long enough for him to escape. He could remember quite clearly how painful the experiments that were done to him. For now he still didn't know what those kooky scientists did but at least nothing was wrong although he had a tough time recalling his childhood memories.  
  
He slowly stroked the velvety white fur of the panther that was currently napping. The panther slowly raised its head and fixed a red eyed gaze that was unwavering on him. It let out a purr before going back to sleep.  
  
Cyrus carefully sat down and hugged his knees to himself. His thoughts wandered to the things he still had to do. He'd still have to meet those impudent Seeds and he'd have to face the girl again. Those huge blue eyes...mako...now where the hell did that thought come from.  
  
Cyrus laid back his head and sighed. He couldn't remember anything since he escaped but he kept on dreaming of a promise he'd made. He'd never see whom he was promising it to but it would always make him wake up in cold sweat. He'd say that they would live forever but first he'd have to take care of something... until now, he still didn't know what that meant and every morning would find his thoughts drifting back to that dream. Now he wondered if that girl was somehow connected in al this.  
  
Oh well...he still had work to do. So he got up and slowly nudged Atropos on the ribs before heading back to the road back to Deling. There was always work to do...  
  
Blinking her eyes open, Rinoa found herself in a familiar room. She abruptly sat up and glanced around, and realized she was in her own bedroom at Caraway's Mansion.  
  
"Squall," she whispered, as her mind drifted back to the time they were both ambushed at Balamb City.  
  
There was a large white feline creature, she remembered that, and a smirking young man in black with it. And some Galbadian soldiers. Her father's troops! How could he betray her like that?  
  
Her head still swooned from the chloroform she had been forced to inhale a few hours ago. Rubbing her head, she stood up, then changed her mind and sat back down when the room started to spin. Why? Why was she back here at Deling, brought here against her will?  
  
She heard the sound of her bedroom door opening, and she looked up to see Gen. Caraway just entering her room. "You bastard!" she spat, rushing towards him and slapping his face.  
  
"Rinoa!" Caraway said harshly, grabbing both of her hands to both stop her from hitting him again and keep her from falling to the floor. "I am your father! Learn to respect me."  
  
Rinoa pulled away roughly and flopped onto her bed. "Why did you have to hurt Squall? He didn't do anything to you," she moaned, taking her head into her hands.  
  
"He is collaborating with our enemy, Esthar," Caraway replied, sitting down on a chair against the wall.  
  
Rinoa looked up, puzzled. "Enemy?"  
  
"Yes," Caraway answered. "We are waging war against Esthar."  
  
Rinoa stood up, balancing herself against a bedpost. "That's absurd!" she blurted out, waving her other hand around. "Esthar is a far more powerful and advanced country than Galbadia. What chance do we have against them?" When Caraway didn't say anything, she went on. "And besides, what does that have to do with me and Squall?!"  
  
Caraway leveled his cool gaze with hers and said unblinkingly. "You...will be our secret weapon."  
  
Rinoa stumbled backwards, sitting back on her bed. "What?" she managed to choke out.  
  
Caraway got up and strode towards her slowly. "You," he told her, laying his hands on her shoulders. "You, Rinoa my child, will be the sorceress once again."  
  
All of a sudden, his hand reached out and grabbed her neck, attaching a choker-like device around it. His other hand then reached into his pocket and brought out a gauze soaked with chloroform.  
  
All this Rinoa saw but couldn't do anything about it. Her father's hand was too strong, almost cutting off her air supply, and when he did release her neck, she opened her mouth to draw in a breath, but was impeded by a cloth of chloroform. Within a few seconds, she was out like a light.  
  
"You were too rough on her," a cool voice remarked from the doorway.  
  
Taking the gauze from Rinoa's mouth and nose, Caraway turned to see Cyrus leaning casually against the doorframe, regarding the little scene carefully. Atropos was planted beside him, twitching its tail lazily.  
  
"I thought I told you to keep that creature out of my house," Caraway pointed out, fixing his military suit.  
  
Cyrus languidly glanced at Atropos, then back at Caraway. "Atropos goes where I go," he said.  
  
He strolled into the room, his steely gray eyes flickering here and there at his surroundings. He stopped beside Caraway and looked at the inert form of Rinoa, his gaze riveted on the black choker on Rinoa's neck.  
  
"Are you sure it would work?" Cyrus queried, glancing at the general.  
  
Caraway nodded his head. "It's one of Dr. Odine's sorceress restraints. With it, I can control Rinoa to do whatever I want her to do."  
  
Cyrus let out a smirk. "Ironic that you'd use an invention of a renowned scientist from the country you're waging war against."  
  
"His devices often work," Caraway told him. After a moment's pause, he asked, "Have you dispatched troops to the Kramer orphanage?"  
  
"Yes," Cyrus replied. "They will get there by sunrise. Don't worry about it. As soon as Edea Kramer is killed, her powers will be instantly transferred to Rinoa, and your dream of crushing Esthar and bringing it to its knees will be fulfilled. After that, world domination will be an easy task." He smiled wryly at the general.  
  
Caraway grinned back evilly, then glancing at Rinoa for the last time, headed towards the door. "Your money...will be sent to your room at the hotel," he said before leaving the room.  
  
Cyrus turned to Rinoa, a half-smile forming on his lips. "Sleep well, Sorceress Rinoa," he breathed. "While you still can." 


End file.
